The rollout of the NYPD’s new pot policy was nothing more than a dog-and-pony show that capitalized on a directive former Police Commissioner Ray Kelly quietly handed down last year, sources said Tuesday.

“Kelly started the whole process,” one source told The Post.

“It used to be that if you had weed, you could get arrested. But then he put out a memo in early 2013 saying if someone is in possession of marijuana, it is no longer an arrest, it is a summons, as long as they don’t have a warrant.”

Another source said a group of cops couldn’t contain themselves while watching Monday’s televised “media spectacle”, at which Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said most people caught with up to 25 grams of pot would get a summons instead of being arrested.

“We were all laughing because they were announcing something that we’ve been doing,” the source said.

“It’s always been up to the officer’s discretion. You see a good kid with no record carrying around some pot. You run his name. He’s clean. You give him a summons. No big deal.”